


Car Trouble

by wolfinpink



Category: Z Nation (TV)
Genre: A little, Ableism, Canon-Typical Violence, Deaf Character, Light Angst, No Fluff, No Smut, Sign Language, Warning: zombie kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 18:39:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18998275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfinpink/pseuds/wolfinpink
Summary: Deaf Reader rescues the group





	Car Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how this came about. But it just happened. Deaf character shown to have both positive and negative effects. Mild internalised ableism. Nothing major. Trigger Warning: dead kids. It's the zombie apocalypse people.  
> 10K and Reader are friends, the gang is learning to sign.  
> *Also: not that it's mentioned or very important but I'm using Auslang which is Australian Sign language coz it's what I know*

The truck is grinding its way up a steep hill when 10K takes advantage of the slowed speed to line up a kill with his slingshot. Your body trembles with the trucks effort to continue forward and the Z isn’t fairing any better. It stumbles up the incline, making pitiful progress.

You snatch up your pistol and swing around to aim at the same Z 10K is about to mercy. It kicks back into your hand with a satisfying impact as the woman falls dead to the ground, gravity dragging her limp body down the hill to rest against some rocks.

10K snaps his head around to look at you, raising his eyebrows and lowering his slingshot.

You holster your weapon and lightly tap the back of your hand, smirking.

[Too slow] you sign and grin widely.

[Necessary use of ammo?] He asks. 

His signing has gotten much better in the last week as you’ve gotten to know the group. You’ve even found some places where you were rusty. You haven’t communicated so much, so long, so in-depth in years and it still makes your heart airy and light to think about.

[Of course.] You sign back. 10K rolls his eyes dramatically, but you spot a smile tugging at his lips when he turns back to the road.

The truck pulls itself onto flat road again and starts to pick up speed. Wind lashing your face, tangling your hair into a nightmare you’ll know you’ll have to sort out later. But right now, you close your eyes and turn into the wind, breathing deeper after every exhale. If happiness was possible in the apocalypse, you think this would be as close as it gets. The window into the cab vibrates with impact and you turn to see Addy knocking her fist against it.

[Humans ahead] She signs, her mouth making the words as well. Her hands aren’t as fluid as 10Ks, but she’s learnt more than the others. The day after they’d taken you in, Warren sat you down with 10K and made sure everyone knew enough to communicate safely. The regular words like, water, food, go, stay, humans, zombie (or just the letter ‘Z’ actually). 

Murphy was the only one who dropped out of her field sign class. He flapped his hand at the group as he trudged back off to the truck. Clearly, not thrilled to have a disabled member of his little posse.

You asked 10K a few days ago why he knew sign, and he’d explained that he’d been a nonverbal child until he was 7. So some of the more grown up words were lost on him, as you’d found out when you profanely flipped Murphy off behind his back.

Up ahead was a mobile home pulled to the side of the road, the hood was propped up with a box and someone was leaning into the machinery. A woman stood near to the middle of the road and was flagging you all down. You unsnapped your holster without looking down and placed your hand over the gun. 10K propped his rifle on the roof of the car but didn’t look down the sights just yet.

Warren slowed the car to a stop. The survivor came to the window and began speaking. She was wearing a floral print dress, breezy and loose. She looked more like a soccer mum than an apocalypse survivor. But the dress didn’t leave much to the imagination as it curved around her in the wind. She wasn’t armed at least.

The man behind the hood stepped back and began to approach the car. To your left the mobile home rocked slightly. But no one else seemed to notice. After a few moments Warren exited the car, followed by Addy and Doc. She turned to you and motioned for you both to stay before following the couple. 

The back end of the broken vehicle shivered a little again.

You twisted back to 10K and snapped your fingers lightly to get his attention.

[They alone?] You asked, [only two?]

10K nodded.

[Why?]

[Something’s in there.] You signed under the cover of the truck lip, so as not to draw attention to what you were pointing at.

10K frowned and began scanning the mobile home for signs of movement. A curtain on the back window shuddered from inside. Something wasn’t right.

You shook your head as you grabbed your pistol and jumped out of the truck bed. Addy and Warren were at the hood of the home, pointing to something inside the motor. Doc turned at the sound of you landing lightly on the bitumen.

He glanced from your pistol to your face, a frown forming as he opened his mouth. You immediately brought your free hand to your lips to quiet him and he nodded once and shrugged, turning back to the motor.

You crept towards the back of the home, watching the ground intently for rough bitumen or loose stones. The window was above your eye line and you strained on your tip toes to see inside. To your right, 10K was keeping an eye on the group huddled around the hood, his hands tightly gripped his weapon.

Gently, you pulled your sleeve down to cover the butt of your gun, and you pressed it sideways to the vehicle, while placing your right foot on the wheel. Your other hand reached up to grab the windowsill and you hauled yourself higher as quietly as you knew how to do.

You glanced at 10K and he gave you the smallest of nods.

It was dark as you peered through a tiny gap of curtain but there was something moving inside. Your eyes adjusted slowly, and your heart sped up as you distinguished three small bodies, swaying from side to side. The back of the mobile home was cut into a small section by a retrofitted set of bars. A tiny moveable jail cell. The Z’s couldn’t have been more than 10 years old each, the youngest maybe 6. They each had cloth tied over their mouths and rope binding their hands. But they moved somewhat freely around their room. It was sparse, no beds, but a few toys littered the floor.

Further into the home, past the set of bars was what you’d expect a mobile home to be, small kitchen, pull-out double bed, a side door which probably led into a toilet. On the counter was a burlap sack which was leaking its contents. Red liquid oozed out of the bag’s pores and seeped down the cabinet side onto the floor.

You’d seen enough.

You carefully lowered yourself onto the ground before turning to warn 10K.

But he wasn’t there. His gun was abandoned on the roof of the car. You pressed your back to the vehicle and peered around the corner. There was a gun to Doc’s temple, as the man held him in place with his forearm. The guy was clearly yelling at the others who were obscured by the rest of the mobile home.

You cursed yourself. The woman came into sight, holding a high-powered automatic rifle. She gestured wildly with it towards the side of the vehicle and slowly your friends filed from around the corner to stand in a line.

You immediately dropped to the ground, narrowly missing a small branch as your knees hit the pavement. You began to crawl forward under the car, as you watched them yell. The man motioned with Doc towards your own car and the woman retrieved Murphy, pulling him from the cab and shoving him towards the rest of the group. She then turned back and began searching the car. Looking for you?

You continued forward on your stomach, hoping you were as silent as you thought. The woman circled the car and came to check behind the home. You pulled your legs to your chest as she rounded the corner and stalked forward.

You wriggled slowly further towards the front of the car, passing your friend’s legs one by one. Murphy’s feet were crossed as he leant against the vehicle’s side. Addy was tapping her foot impatiently and you passed her to stop at 10K’s familiar boots. You reached down, struggling to find the knife on your thigh in the confined space. After a few tugs it came free and you softly placed your hand on the back of 10K’s leg. You felt him jump and sucked in a breath, hoping he’d put two and two together. He continued to stand still so you squeezed his ankle a few times in quick succession and slid your blade against his far-right foot, sitting it behind his boot. Finally, you passed Warren who had her legs apart, stiff but muscles coiled. Like a cobra being taunted from behind the glass. 

As you neared the end of your cover you flipped onto your back, and shuffled sideways. Slowly the man holding Doc came into view. His attention was drawn off to the side as he spoke with the woman. You made a small wave with your gun, and Doc’s eyes snapped toward you, widening slightly. You motioned towards the man’s legs and Doc shifted his bottom half more to your right.

You took a deep breath and winked at Doc, before focusing on the man’s kneecap and gently squeezing the trigger.

The kick back startled you as it was so close to your face. For a moment you pitied 10K and his rifle. The man released Doc as he smashed his head back into his nose and Doc fell forward. Down to your right 10K scooped up the knife and flung it into the man’s chest.

You rolled the opposite direction, dragging yourself up on the other side of the vehicle and quickly rounding the hood to point your gun at the woman. Her eyes were wide as she looked on in horror as her male friend clutched at his knee and the knife still protruding from his chest.

The others came around from the other side, now brandishing their own weapons. The woman scrunched her eyes closed tightly; her mouth was spilling silent words as you watched Warren approach her. She was shaking, eyes welling up, clearly begging for her life. You wondered what story she could possibly spin to change anyone’s mind after this. You kept your pistol levelled at her as she continued. Your eyes followed her arm down to her gun, her hand wasn’t shaking like the rest of her, her finger was firm and still on the trigger. There was a stiff tension to her firing arm that didn’t feel right. Suddenly her arm seized up and she began to turn the gun towards Warren.

You squeezed the trigger once, twice. Three, four times. Firing bullets into her chest. She crumbled to the ground.

The others turned to you as you lowered your gun. Doc and Addy exchanged a pointed look and you swung your gaze to 10K. You shoved the pistol back into its holster.  
[She was going to shoot.] You signed frantically and it took a moment for 10K to register the words. He nodded immediately and slung his rifle over his shoulder, speaking to Warren. After a moment he turned back to you.

[She knows.] He signed, and you let out a rush of air you didn’t know you’d been holding. Warren stepped up to you and squeezed your shoulder, smiling softly. She looked you in the eyes as she signed ’thank you’.

Doc’s mouth opened as he laughed and gave you an exaggerated thumbs up.

[What a shit show.] Addy signed and clapped you on the back.

The couple have begun to turn when your group starts heading back to their car. Addy mercies the woman with her Z-whacker and Doc finishes the man. You grab 10K’s arm before he can enter the mobile home and explain what’s inside. He nods and relays it to Warren. After a moment she glances at you, eyebrows raised in question. You give confirmation. Her chest rises and falls heavily in a sigh before heading to the open hood. You and 10K enter the home and search for anything of use. 

There are body parts crammed into containers sitting next to plush teddy bears. A family photo hangs above the cage depicting the man, woman and their three children – all alive at the time. The child Z’s press themselves into the bars, fingers wriggling and clawing at you from in their binds. You reach up to touch the photo once before turning back to search for supplies. A few strips of jerky and a litre of water later you’re outside.

You motion to 10K to help drag the bodies inside, and you rest them next to the cage.

Warren finishes funnelling most of the fuel into a small canister and begins leaving a thin line of petrol away from the home. Addy jumps into the truck and you all walk several paces down the road before stopping for Warren to light a match.

[Mercy.] You sign from the truck bed as your group drives away from the ensuing explosion.

**Author's Note:**

> I changed up how I write signing, so it's [like this] now. I feels quieter and more private, I don't know, haha.


End file.
